By: Express News ServiceMumbai | December 14, 2025 08:47 PM IST 3 min readReferring to repeated demands for scrapping the post of Deputy Chief Minister, Shinde said the criticism was politically motivated. (File Photo)Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde launched a scathing attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) on the last day of Maharashtra Assembly’s winter session on Sunday, accusing the party of “looting Mumbai’s treasury” during its tenure in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), and exuding confidence that the ruling Mahayuti alliance would decisively win the upcoming municipal elections, including the BMC.Speaking during the “last week resolution” debate in the state legislature, Shinde said that the Mahayuti government continued to push development and welfare measures, while the Opposition limited itself to what he called “unfounded accusations”.Taking aim at previous administrations that governed Mumbai for decades, Shinde said, “Who is this Rehman Dakait who robbed the Mumbai treasury? I don’t launch personal attacks, but many such Rehman Dakaits have come and gone. This ‘Dhurandhar Mahayuti’ will give a befitting reply to them. The current Mahayuti is just a trailer — asli picture abhi baaki hai.”Alleging that several Opposition leaders attended the Nagpur session only briefly and failed to raise public issues in the House, the deputy CM questioned their commitment to people’s concerns. “We ran the legislature till 2 am, but some people cannot sit in the House even for two hours. Some legislators treat the session like tourism,” he said, in a veiled reference to Thackeray, an MLC.Referring to repeated demands for scrapping the post of Deputy Chief Minister, Shinde said the criticism was politically motivated. “When I became chief minister, you called me non-constitutional and wanted me removed. Now you want me removed as deputy chief minister,” he said.Shinde listed a series of policy decisions taken by the Mahayuti government for Mumbai, including relief to around 20,000 buildings without occupation certificates, abolition of the pagdi system to facilitate redevelopment of more than 13,000 buildings, and a 10 per cent reduction in prices of CIDCO houses. He also lauded the education minister for introducing a 21-page chapter on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the CBSE curriculum.The deputy CM said the government was moving towards fulfilling Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray’s vision of providing housing to slum dwellers. Several housing-related schemes, he said, would be rolled out as part of Thackeray’s birth centenary year, beginning January 23.Story continues below this adMeanwhile, with the winter session concluding, political activity has gathered pace ahead of the likely announcement of municipal elections. Senior leaders of the BJP and the Shiv Sena led by Shinde are expected to meet shortly to finalise seat-sharing arrangements. Sources said the BJP is keen to contest around 130 to 140 seats in the BMC, while the Shinde led Shiv Sena is seeking 80 to 90 seats. It remains unclear whether the Ajit Pawar-led NCP will participate in the seat-sharing talks.The BJP and the Shiv Sena have already agreed to contest all upcoming municipal elections in Maharashtra together under the Mahayuti banner.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Eknath Shinde